Our internationally respected researchers
are generating fresh insights into some of the
big issues facing today’s society, such as
migration, economic uncertainty, political
disengagement and demographic change.
From Westminster to urban China, our projects span the globe and
examine diverse topics, including the implications of change in the
workplace, ways to improve population forecasting and the
effectiveness of maternal health services in the developing world.
What they all share is a focus on impact. By providing crucial
evidence for decision-makers and influencing policy in the UK and
worldwide, our research is making a real difference to people’s lives.
We promote a dynamic research environment, supported by ongoing
investment into state-of-the-art facilities such as high-performance
computing, a behavioural economics lab and Bloomberg terminals for
real-time financial market data.
Our researchers work across five divisions – Economics; Demography and
Social Statistics; Sociology, Social Policy and Criminology; Gerontology;
and Politics and International Relations. They are also involved in
cross-disciplinary work in a number of specialist research centres,
including centres funded by the Economic and Social Research Council.
You’ll find more information about our research centres on page 23.
I hope this report gives you an insight into the impact we are making
through social sciences research. You can discover more by visiting our
website, www.southampton.ac.uk/socsci
Professor Jane Falkingham,
Dean of the Faculty of Social and Human Sciences

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In this publication
Making a global impact
Improving reproductive health services in China
Inequality and wellbeing among Chinaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s economic migrants
Improving the health of mothers and children
Measuring older peopleâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s wellbeing worldwide

4
4
5
6
7

Resilience and ageing in Nairobiâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s slums

7

Measuring the social world
Revamping official statistics on migration and population
Poverty mapping: innovations in small area estimation

8
8
9

Understanding and influencing behaviour
Responding to political disaffection
Shaping change in civic behaviour
Finding out what works in crime reduction
Helping in the fight to save energy
Examining the role of parliamentary select committees
The Olympics and risk management

10
10
11
12
12
13
13

Challenging myths about migration
The benefits of temporary migration
Pension prospects for European migrants

Improving reproductive
health services in China
Robust scientific data generated by Southampton demographers and social statisticians are
benefiting millions of people in China by informing the development of high-quality, clientoriented family planning and sexual health services without any discrimination or coercion.
The researchers have been monitoring and
evaluating large-scale programmes run by
the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA)
across eastern, central and western China
over the last 14 years, providing the evidence
base for significant policy changes by Chinese
government ministries and UNFPA.
Tackling discrimination
After years of enforcing a rigorous family planning
policy that restricted couples in urban areas to
only one child, the Chinese government wanted
to enable people to make informed reproductive
health and family planning choices through clientcentred services without any discrimination or
influence from health authorities. With UNFPA,
it put in place a series of programmes to improve
access to quality services, with an emphasis on
human rights rather than demographic goals.
However, no systematic method of evaluating
the impact of these programmes was in place and
UN member states insisted on a comprehensive
evaluation before committing further resources.
Researchers from Social Statistics and Demography
were therefore invited to lead an independent
research programme, working with research
institutions under the Chinese ministries to
scientifically evaluate the programmes’ impact.
Changing attitudes
The UNFPA Sixth Country Programme (CP6) built
on previous programmes (CP4 and CP5) to improve
access to quality reproductive health services,
with the aim of promoting awareness and reducing
stigma related to HIV/AIDS, changing attitudes
towards young people’s risky sexual behaviour and
improving women’s status and gender equity.

After analysing the CP4 and CP5 programmes, the
research team evaluated the CP6 programme,
gathering evidence through statistically robust
population surveys and field research in areas
within and outside the programme. Their analysis
revealed a clear shift in attitudes among health
providers, an improvement in people’s knowledge
of reproductive health and family planning and
significant improvements in contraceptive
choices. It also identified gaps in service standards
to be addressed by future programmes.
International reach
The research has resulted in significant policy
changes in China. These include the revision of
in-service training modules to include genderbased reproductive health and family planning
information as well as counselling, referral and
treatment services for people with HIV/AIDS and
other sexually transmitted diseases. Post-abortion
care guidelines have also been amended to
provide a better service for women and couples.
The UN programme has been extended nationwide,
giving 754 million Chinese men and women
of reproductive age access to family planning
methods of their choice without coercion or
discrimination from service providers.
The team’s survey methods have also been
replicated in a similar programme in North
Korea and members of the team have been in
discussions about whether lessons from China
could be applied in Africa, particularly in conflict
regions such as Sierra Leone and Rwanda.
www.southampton.ac.uk/socsci/chinahealth

Making a global impact

“The Southampton team’s analysis over the past
decade has benefited millions of Chinese people
by generating robust scientific evidence to
inform significant policy changes by Chinese
ministries and the UN Population Fund.”

44

abu Padmadas,
S
Professor of Demography and Global Health

Making a global impact

Inequality and wellbeing among
China’s economic migrants
Recent decades have seen unprecedented growth in China’s economy, but this has caused considerable population
challenges in cities and urban areas, exacerbated by the mass movement of economic migrants from rural areas.
Southampton researchers, led by Professor Sabu Padmadas,
worked with colleagues from the China Population Development
Research Centre, the Institute for Population and Labour
Economics of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences and
Nanjing University to investigate the socioeconomic and gender
inequalities affecting different migrant groups and how these
impacted on people’s health behaviours and wellbeing.

The project, which was funded by the UK Economic and Social
Research Council, engaged policymakers from a range of
organisations in order to maximise the social and economic
impact of its findings. It is one of a number of collaborative
Southampton studies investigating causes of social and health
inequality in countries including Brazil, South Africa and India.

5

Improving the health of
mothers and children
Social Sciences researchers are making a significant contribution to better maternal and child
health policies in the developing world, with the aim of reducing preventable deaths related to
pregnancy and childbirth.
Worldwide, around 800 women die every
day from causes related to pregnancy and
childbirth, the majority from developing
regions such as sub-Saharan Africa and South
Asia. In addition, every day more than 13,000
newborn babies and infants die needlessly.

Nyovani Madise,
Professor of Demography
and Social Statistics

Pioneering research conducted over the past
two decades by the University’s Centre for
Global Health, Population, Poverty and Policy
(GHP3) is playing a crucial role in improving the
chances of mothers and babies in developing
countries by informing maternal health
policies nationally and internationally.
Led by Zoe Matthews, Professor of Global Health
and Social Statistics, and Nyovani Madise, Professor
of Demography and Social Statistics, the research
team explored the provision of maternal health
services for women in urban and rural communities
in the developing world, including studies focusing
on slums in Nairobi, Kenya and Mumbai, India.

Zoe Matthews,
Professor of Global Health
and Social Statistics

Making a global impact

66

“Our findings have
informed policy and
funding priorities
at national and
international
organisations
including the
Department for
International
Development and
the United Nations.”

Making a global impact

The research is having a significant impact
worldwide, with organisations such as the
Department for International Development (DFID)
and the United Nations using the findings to inform
policy and funding priorities. New DFID funding
will see the team working with researchers and
governments in six African countries to translate
their research evidence into policies and actions
to improve women’s and children’s health.
www.southampton.ac.uk/socsci/maternalhealth

Measuring older people’s
wellbeing worldwide
A Southampton researcher,
working with HelpAge
International and a group
of experts from around the
world, has developed the
first index to measure the
wellbeing of older people on a
worldwide scale.

Asghar Zaidi, Professor in International Social
Policy, worked on the Global AgeWatch Index which
compares the experiences of older people from
91 countries. Focusing on factors such as income
security, health status, social opportunities through
employment and education, and enabling agefriendly environments, the index ranks the countries
according to the wellbeing and quality of life of
the current generation of older people. Currently
Sweden, Norway and Germany are at the top of the
ranking, with Pakistan, Tanzania and Afghanistan at
the very bottom.

The aim is to use the data to build a strong case for
better policies and services to improve the lives of older
people, particularly those in developing countries.
The project is supported by the United Nations
Population Fund, and it will continue to generate
evidence for additional countries in the future.

Resilience and ageing
in Nairobi’s slums
Social Sciences researchers
are engaged in a collaborative
study that seeks to improve the
lives of older people living in the
slums of Nairobi – one of the
world’s poorest urban areas.

They are investigating people’s ability to cope with
stresses and shocks to find out why some people are
better able to adapt than others and emerge with
better health and socioeconomic outcomes and
overall wellbeing.
Southampton researchers, led by Professor Maria
Evandrou, are working in collaboration with partners
in the Africa Population and Health Research Centre
in Nairobi and with HelpAge Kenya to make sure
that the project’s findings feed through to inform
policy interventions.
The project is funded by the Economic and
Social Research Council and the Department for
International Development.

7

Revamping official
statistics on migration
and population
A model developed by demographers and
social statisticians at Southampton is
helping national organisations to tackle the
challenge of producing reliable population
estimates and forecasts.
Accurate information about the size and
movements of populations is crucial for
policymakers at local, national and international
level. They need reliable data to inform decisions
about a range of issues, from funding for
infrastructure and amenities to strategic planning.
However, at European Union level the study
of international migration has been hindered
by problems with data availability, quality and
consistency.
To address this problem, researchers from the
Southampton Statistical Sciences Research
Institute and the ESRC’s Centre for Population
Change joined forces to seek a reliable, useable
solution.

Measuring the social world

88

They investigated the problems government
bodies faced when trying to accurately estimate
and predict population changes, working with
them to significantly improve the way they use
and understand the available statistics. As part

of a three-year project, Migration Modelling
for Statistical Analyses (MIMOSA), the team
developed a modelling approach which, for the
first time, could produce consistent estimates
of international migration between countries in
Europe and reconstruct missing data.
Related projects showed how statistical modelling
could overcome data limitations to produce more
reliable and detailed migration estimates and
forecasts, and how administrative sources like
student registers, NHS registers and National
Insurance data could supplement traditional
survey data used by the Office for National
Statistics (ONS).
The research is already having a significant impact
on policymaking in the UK and has become an
integral part of ONS operations. It was also
highlighted in Migration Statistics: The Way
Ahead?, a report by the UK Statistics Authority,
and the team recently submitted written evidence
to the House of Commons Public Administration
Select Committee’s inquiry into international
migration and asylum statistics.
www.southampton.ac.uk/socsci/migrationstats

“The team developed a modelling approach
which, for the first time, could produce
consistent estimates of international migration
between countries in Europe.”
Dr Jakub Bijak,
Lecturer in Demography

Measuring the social world

Poverty mapping:
innovations in small area
estimation
Southampton statisticians have designed
methodologies that have been adopted in the UK
and around the world to produce high-quality
statistics about small geographical areas.
“The estimation of social and economic indicators is
essential for targeted implementation of policies,”
explains Nikos Tzavidis, Associate Professor in Social
Statistics. “In order to deliver really effective policies,
leaders need a detailed picture that goes beyond
national estimates and drills down to small areas.”

The research is also having impact around the globe.
It is being used by Mexico’s National Council for the
Evaluation of Social Development Policy to gain an
unprecedented statistical picture of the country’s
most pressing social development problems
and to design more effective and efficient social
programmes. Techniques developed at S3RI are also
being studied in the Netherlands to investigate the
production of improved business data statistics.
www.southampton.ac.uk/socsci/mappingpovertyerty

Nikos is part of a research team from the
Southampton Statistical Sciences Research Institute
(S3RI) that is using pioneering methods to develop
accessible methodologies that can estimate these key
small area indicators. The first phase of the research,
conducted as part of a European Commission
project, looked at the development of techniques
to estimate unemployment levels at a small area
level. Over the years further methods have been
developed for estimating averages, distributions and
poverty indicators. These novel developments are all
supported by accessible software.
The team’s methods have been adopted thanks
to its partnership with the Office for National
Statistics (ONS). Its studies have been shared with
the Department for Work and Pensions, the Greater
London Authority, various local authorities and
government departments and with academics and
students.

9

Responding
to political
disaffection
Political disaffection is a growing problem in
the UK and worldwide, with political parties
and think tanks struggling to find ways to
tackle anti-political sentiment.
Research at Southampton is helping governmental
and non-governmental organisations to understand
how they can respond to citizensâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; disenchantment
and encourage participation in the political process.
Gerry Stoker, Professor of Governance and Director
of the Centre for Citizenship, Globalization and
Governance (C2G2), worked with colleagues
to study the role of citizens within their local
communities, how they made decisions and how
they ran community facilities or regeneration
projects. The study identified six mechanisms that
support community self-rule â&#x20AC;&#x201C; asset transfer, citizen
governance, electronic participation, participatory
budgeting, petitions and redress.
The results further developed an understanding
of what appeared to be public cynicism towards
politics, with a central source of disaffection being
the belief that too many politicians are self-serving.
There was also a fear that special interest groups
dominate political decision-making and a perception
that the role of the tabloid media confirmed a sense
of anti-politics among citizens.

Understanding and influencing behaviour

10

The researchers also explored citizensâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; ideas for
reform and discovered a popular perception that
more open and responsive government could
persuade many voters, and younger people in
particular, to engage actively in politics.
The findings are making a difference to the ways in
which governments in the UK and other countries
are trying to engage and empower their citizens.
For example, the research recommendations on
empowering communities were a key part of the
Local Democracy, Economic Development and
Construction Act 2009 and are widely read and used
by the UK civil service. Findings on the causes of
political disenchantment have been presented to the
Australian and New Zealand School of Government
and to leading politicians and civil servants at the
House of Representatives in Tokyo, Japan.
www.southampton.ac.uk/socsci/civic_participation

Shaping change in civic behaviour
What motivates people to
change their behaviour and
engage with the policies that
affect their lives? Governance
and politics experts at
Southampton have been
exploring this question,
shedding new light on civic
behaviour and how it can
be promoted for the benefit
of the wider community.

Governments and organisations in the UK and
around the world face the challenge of changing
people’s behaviour in different aspects of their lives
– from tackling obesity and carbon reduction, to
increasing recycling and community safety. Another
C2G2 study is generating new insights into the most
effective drivers for change and how organisations
can influence people and make a difference to their
actions.
The research built on previous work investigating
the importance of two ideas that relate to changing
and promoting civic behaviour – nudge concepts,
where small incentives, social cues and peer pressure
are used to influence behaviour, and think strategies,
where people are asked to reflect upon and discuss
information.

“The team used experimental methods to gather
robust evaluations of how different interventions
could be used to change people’s behaviour in a
variety of areas including recycling, petitioning,
voting and volunteering,” explains Gerry. Working
with local authorities, the NHS and voluntary
organisations, the researchers carried out a
number of field-based, large-scale experiments that
demonstrated how different techniques work in
practice and how they can be made more effective.
The research has influenced the UK government’s
approach to the concept of the Big Society and has
helped shape the debate on behaviour change and
how it relates to public sector reform in the UK and
other countries. The importance of the work in
shaping policy in this field has also been recognised
in Australia and New Zealand.
www.southampton.ac.uk /socsci/civic_behaviour

“Political disaffection is a growing problem in the
UK and around the world. Government and nongovernmental organisations globally are facing an
increasing challenge to keep their citizens engaged
and participating in the political arena.”
Gerry Stoker,

Professor of Governance

11

Finding out what works
in crime reduction
Southampton is a key player
in a new consortium of eight
universities examining the
most effective ways to reduce
crime. The What Works Centre
for Crime Reduction is part
of a world-leading network
of centres to guide decisionmaking in public services.

The Centre aims to build an evidence base to
help practitioners and decision-makers make the
best decisions on how to reduce crime. As well as
generating guidance and tools, the consortium will
raise public awareness of successful crime reduction
methods, highlight areas for further research
and inform national debates on effective crime
reduction policies.
Professor Jenny Fleming, the consortium’s
Southampton lead, says: “The University of
Southampton has a wealth of expertise to bring to
this consortium. Our interdisciplinary research hub,
the Institute of Criminal Justice Research, involves
colleagues of all disciplines whose research interests
include or complement criminal justice studies.”
The Centre is a three-year partnership between
the Economic and Social Research Council and the
College of Policing.

Helping in the fight to save energy
Academics from Social Sciences
and Civil Engineering and
Environment at Southampton
are part of a cross-disciplinary
team investigating the
effectiveness of community-led
energy saving programmes.

Understanding and influencing behaviour

12

With colleagues from the universities of Reading
and Westminster, the researchers are examining
whether schemes run by community organisations
can influence people’s behaviour to reduce their
energy consumption, which would in turn help meet
ambitious national targets for reduced carbon
dioxide emissions. The study will compare two
groups of Hampshire householders – a control group
and an intervention group that is involved in regular
community-run energy saving workshops.
Dr Milena Büchs, Senior Lecturer in Sociology and
Social Policy, says: “The outcomes of the research
will be of major interest to community organisations
promoting pro-environmental behaviours, as well as
to the UK government that has made considerable
investment into community-led climate change and
energy saving programmes.”
The study is part of a cross-disciplinary programme
funded by Research Councils UK.

Examining the role of
parliamentary select committees
A Southampton researcher
with a special interest in the
workings of Westminster
politics is putting the role
of select committees in the
House of Commons under the
spotlight.

Dr Alexandra Kelso, Senior Lecturer in Politics, is
playing a key role in analysing the effectiveness of
departmental select committees in holding the
government to account. The research uses insights
from group processes in social psychology to
examine how MPs from different political parties,
who frequently battle against each other in the
House of Commons and the media, manage to
work together within all-party select committee
environments.

The findings of the study, which is part of a threeyear Economic and Social Research Council-funded
project, will develop a greater understanding of
how MPs work together to deliver useful scrutiny
‘outputs’ and inform debates on future select
committee reform.

“Through extensive interviews with MPs,
parliamentary clerks, committee special advisors
and others, we are examining how MPs from
different parties work together within all-party
select committee environments.”
Dr Alexandra Kelso,
Senior Lecturer in Politics

The Olympics and risk management
Southampton is at the
leading edge of research
into the governance and risk
management of large-scale
sporting events.

Dr Will Jennings, Reader in Politics and International
Relations, has studied the organisation of Olympic
games from the early 1900s to the present
day, tracing the development of risk mitigation
approaches in relation to security but also health,
financial and reputational risk.
Olympics organisers traditionally focused on
reacting and recovering from incidents using tools
such as insurance, safety plans, and command
and control structures. However, since the 1980s,

organising committees have increasingly integrated
risk management into decision-making and
operations and have invested in teams and systems
dedicated to the management of risk through
internal controls.
Will comments: “As Olympics committees have
become more sophisticated in risk management
over the past 30 years, the broader discipline and
profession of risk management has benefited from
its example.”

13

The benefits of temporary migration
Research by a Southampton
economist has challenged the
popular belief that temporary
migration has a detrimental
effect on the home countries
of those who go abroad to
work. The research has led
to a reassessment of policies
relating to temporary labour
migration on a national and
international level.

Challenging myths
Challenging
mythsabout
aboutmigration
migration

14

It is a widely held view that emigration of skilled
workers has a negative impact on the home
countries of migrants, with developing countries
investing scarce resources into the education of
people who then go abroad, leaving their countries
under-skilled and poor. However, a study by
Professor Jackline Wahba, Professor of Economics,
was one of the first to challenge this notion by
showing that temporary migration can bring
multiple benefits to migrants’ home countries.
Investment and enterprise
Jackline studied the labour market experiences of
Egyptians who migrated to rich Gulf states such
as Saudi Arabia and then returned to Egypt. She
found that uneducated people returning to their
home countries had a markedly positive impact
on the economy. As well as increasing investment
in the country by 15 per cent, migrants returned
with savings that enabled them to set up their own
businesses, which would not have been possible if
they hadn’t migrated.
The research showed that migrants used the
knowledge and experience they gained abroad to
set up enterprises at home, creating jobs for local
people with greater emphasis on workers’ rights,
such as sick leave and holiday pay. It also revealed
that when migrants came home they enjoyed a wage
premium, often earning up to 38 per cent more than
non-migrants.

Jackline comments: “The findings show that it is
important for ‘labour sending’ developing countries
to put policies in place to maximise these benefits
and strengthen their relationship with their migrant
communities, so that migrants can become more
involved in the economic life of their home country.”
Global impact
The research has led to a reassessment of migration
policies on a national and international level and
has influenced the policy of several international
organisations.
The World Bank drew on Jackline’s work to support
the Egyptian government in its negotiations with the
European Union on temporary labour migration.
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and
Development cited the research as a key reason
to encourage temporary migration and consulted
with Jackline on the development of policies that
would help countries maximise the benefits of their
return migrants and the investment they bring. The
International Labour Organisation also based policy
recommendations on this research, suggesting that
the Egyptian government set up online services and
offer tax breaks to return migrants.

Pension prospects for
European migrants
Research into European Union
(EU) migration and pension
costs has found that the large
numbers of EU workers who
have moved in recent years
from eastern Europe to the
west are likely to be better off
on retirement in the west than
their counterparts staying in
the east.

This contradicts previous research in the field, which
suggested that mobile workers face significant
pension costs because EU pension regulations are
too lax.
Social policy researchers Caroline Andow, Dr Paul
Bridgen and Dr Traute Meyer found that workers
migrating from east to west Europe are better
protected against poverty thanks to more generous
pension system principles and higher wages in their

adopted country. However, they also found that
some workers moving between countries of similar
wealth are more vulnerable to pension losses.
The results indicate that researchers who want to
assess whether migration leads to pension loss for
individuals must take into account the design of
pension systems and the differing wealth levels of
migrantsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; home and host countries.

15

Understanding
organisational change
The introduction of new technologies, increased workforce mobility, spending cuts and workers’
shifting expectations are just some of the factors driving change in today’s workplace. Research
by sociologists at Southampton is helping employers and policymakers understand and respond
to these changes and contributing to the design of management change processes and policies.
A range of research projects at the University’s Work
Futures Research Centre, led by Professor Susan
Halford and Professor Pauline Leonard, has been
examining the impact of workplace change on the
organisation and delivery of services and on people’s
experience of work.
The implications of change

Changing the workplace

16

Equality at work
The Centre’s research has also revealed sustained
inequalities in the workplace, despite legislative and
cultural change. Racism remains manifest in access
to training and careers within the health services and
gender pay inequalities and discrimination persist
across the private, public and third sectors.

Research investigating the growing use of
technology in the health sector showed how
the work required to make new technological
systems function effectively in the workplace was
considerable and could vary from place to place.
Innovations such as telemedicine, electronic
booking and large scale information systems were
not quick or cheap technical fixes for current funding
constraints and had an impact on the professional
and organisational aspects of healthcare work.

Making an impact

Another study looking at workplace design
showed that the configuration of office space had
a significant bearing on individuals’ motivation,
working relationships and wellbeing. Initiatives
designed to promote sustainability were
generally supported by employees but effective
communication was crucial – without it, people
could perceive changes to their workspace as
motivated by financial rather than environmental
concerns.

The workplace design research forms part of the
British Council for Offices web-based research
evidence base that is used by commercial property
developers, architects, property tenants, facilities
managers and senior managers. It has been adopted
by construction engineers in the management of
effective sustainable working practices and was
published in Government Today and Public Servant.

Professor Susan Halford

The research has had a direct impact on
organisations’ understanding and management of
workplace issues. For example, the findings on the
effect of race and racism on medical careers has
framed British Medical Association good practice
guidelines, while the study into the impact of
increasing digitisation has played an integral part in
the introduction of the Department of Health’s new
national 111 service that is set to replace NHS Direct.

www.southampton.ac.uk/socsci/workplaces

Professor Pauline Leonard

Older healthcare workers
and new technology
Researchers from Southampton and Norway have teamed up to investigate the impact of
technology in healthcare on an ageing workforce.
Technological innovation is seen as one solution to
the various challenges facing healthcare systems.
However, studies in other sectors have shown that
employees are more likely to take early retirement
where there is rapid technological change. This is a
particular concern in the healthcare sector, which
faces high levels of early retirement among nurses
alongside an increasing demand for health services.
The researchers found that technology itself was not
a particular cause of stress or early retirement, and
that older nurses are competent and often keen to
adopt new technologies. However, there were issues
with the way new technologies were introduced, the
level of support and training given and the effect of
physical aspects of ageing on peopleâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s abilities.

The research findings will be disseminated in Norway
and the UK to shape employment practice and
encourage the development of strategies to support
older workers.
The project was a collaboration between
Southamptonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Work Futures Research Centre
and the University of Nordland, Norway, working
with NORUT (Northern Research Institute) and the
University of Tromso, Norway.

17

Preparing for an ageing society

18

Examining the impact of
an ageing population
The growth of an ageing population raises significant challenges for governments and
policymakers around the globe. Researchers at the University of Southampton are playing a
pivotal role in exploring the impact of this demographic shift on individuals and society.
By 2050, the number of older people worldwide
will exceed two billion, with the older population
increasingly concentrated in developing countries.
In the UK, people aged 60 and over currently
constitute 23 per cent of the population; by 2050 this
will have risen to 30 per cent.
In the context of this demographic trend, research
at two Southampton centres is contributing to
the cultural and policy understanding of ageing,
intergenerational relations and the life course.
Studies at the Centre for Research on Ageing (CRA)
and ESRC Centre for Population Change (CPC) aim
to help ensure that countries across the globe are
prepared to provide for the future demands of an
ageing population.
Mapping future demand
One significant element of the centres’ work is the
Care Life Cycle project, a five-year study funded by
a £3m Engineering and Physical Sciences Research
Council grant. Together, the CPC and CRA are leading
a multidisciplinary team of researchers from social
sciences, management science and complexity
science who are developing a suite of models to map
the future demand and supply of health and social
care in the UK. The models will help national and local
government decision-makers to understand the
complex interactions between formal public sector
care provision and informal family provision, which
will in turn help them to plan for the future.

Exchanging knowledge
Beyond the UK, a successful bid by the CPC
for European Commission funding will see the
establishment of Population Europe, a knowledge
exchange platform that will promote understanding
of demographic change in Europe. Members of the
CPC have also actively participated in a series of
knowledge exchange events for influential decisionmakers and eminent scholars.
Changing attitudes
A CRA project helped to challenge attitudes to
ageing by contributing to the creative process of a
play, On Ageing, that was staged at the 40th birthday
celebrations of the Young Vic theatre in London. The
show was a narrative by older people performed by
children aged between seven and 11 years. Alongside
the performance, the CRA also hosted a symposium
for more than 100 members of the public to engage
directly with social science researchers. They
evaluated the whole process and circulated an online
questionnaire to the play’s audience.
The work of both centres continues to stimulate
dialogue between researchers, policymakers and the
general public, and has enhanced cultural and policy
understanding of ageing-related issues.
www.southampton.ac.uk/socsci/intergenerational

Ethnicity and
pension protection
Demographers and gerontologists from Social Sciences are analysing data from two major social
surveys to assess the pension prospects of current and future groups from ethnic minority
communities in Britain.
Preliminary results show that, even allowing
for other demographic and socioeconomic
variables, ethnicity is a strong determinant of a
younger person’s chances of being a member
of an occupational pension scheme, and of the
likelihood of an older person receiving any pension
income, whether private or state-funded.

Maria Evandrou, Professor of
Gerontology and Director of the
Centre for Research on Ageing

“By 2045, for
the first time
in human
history, the
number of
people aged
60 and over
will exceed
the number of
children aged
under 16.”
Jane Falkingham,
Professor of Demography and
International Social Policy

Further work will examine the extent and nature
of the effect of ethnicity and inform policy
initiatives for people from traditional minority
ethnic groups as well as those from countries
such as Poland, Lithuania and Latvia. Principal
Investigator Dr Athina Vlachantoni says: “These
migrants form a ‘new’ type of minority in the UK,
whose employment patterns, as well as welfare
needs, may be different to those of traditional
minority groups such as the Indian, Pakistani,
black Caribbean and Bangladeshi communities.”

19

Informing global labour
market policies
Labour market policies play an influential role in countries’ economies, so an understanding
of the effects of such policies is crucial, particularly in the current economic climate. Research
conducted by Southampton economist Dr Mirco Tonin has generated new insights into the
impact of a range of labour market policies, informing decision-making by governments and
institutions nationally and internationally.

Providing the bigger economic picture

20

Dr Mirco Tonin,
Senior Lecturer in Economics

Mirco’s exploration of the relationship between
the minimum wage and tax evasion showed that,
contrary to the commonly held view, introducing
or increasing the minimum wage can actually
reduce workers’ disposable income in some
environments. “In developing and transition
countries, people often under-report earnings in
order to avoid paying tax on them,” Mirco explains.
“When minimum wage legislation is passed there
may be a significant rise in declared earnings, but
workers may actually be losing income as they swap
undeclared earnings for declared, taxable ones.”
Another study looking at in-work benefits showed
that universal tax credits can be more effective
than targeted ones in fighting unemployment and
encouraging participation in the labour market.
Mirco’s research also found evidence of a correlation
between weaker employment protection legislation
and the trend in many countries across the European
Union of shorter tenure among young workers.

Mirco has also investigated workers’ altruistic
motivations. An experiment that connected
workers’ compensation to charity through
a monetary donation revealed that women
increased their effort due to the sense of
satisfaction they gained from charitable giving,
whereas this generally had no effect on men.
The research has shaped policy and
recommendations at major global and government
institutions including the World Bank, the
International Labour Organisation, the Organisation
for Economic Co-operation and Development, the UK
Cabinet Office and Sweden’s Fiscal Policy Council.
www.southampton.ac.uk/socsci/globalmarket

Dr Carmine Ornaghi, Senior Lecturer in Economics

Towards a healthy future
“Economists in
Southampton have
been examining the
effects of mergers
and acquisitions
on organisations’
research efforts
and outputs in the
UK pharmaceutical
industry.”
Dr Carmine Ornaghi

Groundbreaking research by economists at Southampton into innovation and
competition in the pharmaceutical industry is making an important contribution to
policy debates in Europe and the US. The results point to the need for better policies to
sustain this thriving industry and deliver high-quality, affordable medicines.
The UK pharmaceutical industry is a
commercial success story; it employs 70,000
people and has an excellent track record
for innovation. However, drugs are also a
considerable national expense, which puts the
UK government under increasing pressure to
sustain innovation and give patients affordable
access to the best treatments.

Another study showed that firms with lower
quality drugs benefit more from advertising
and this advertising can increase the price
of the drugs. This suggests that advertising
can act as a barrier to innovation and that if
advertising expenditure was controlled more
tightly it could free up funds for research and
reduce the NHS drug bill.

To help inform policy in this area, research led
by Dr Carmine Ornaghi has explored a range
of issues including the role of mergers and
acquisitions on innovation. The result of this
study – one of the first and most exhaustive of its
kind – suggested that mergers generally have a
negative effect on research because companies
may look to acquire firms with similar technology
and drug portfolios, leading to higher prices and
less incentive to innovate.

Carmine’s work brings an important new
perspective to policy debates on both sides of
the Atlantic. His research has informed a paper
by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation
and Development and has been cited by several
economists working for the Antitrust Division
of the US Department of Justice. Carmine has
also been invited by the Department of Health
of Cataluna, Spain, to discuss how to reform the
finance and access of new prescription drugs.
www.southampton.ac.uk/socsci/healthy_future

21

Changing living
arrangements
Factors such as economic pressures, migration and a move away
from ‘traditional’ family expectations are changing the way we
live. Social Sciences researchers are examining these changes
and their implications in order to inform social policy.
Young adults and independent living
Demographer Professor Ann Berrington is leading a study at
Southampton’s ESRC Centre for Population Change (CPC) on the
living arrangements of young adults. The study builds on previous
CPC research which revealed that young people’s success in achieving
independent living can relate to their education, employment
and parental backgrounds. These factors, as well as the increased
immigration of foreign-born young adults, are having a significant effect
on how young people live. The new study will inform policies such as
welfare reform, regulation of the private rented sector and access to
credit for first-time buyers.
Wellbeing in later life
CPC research is also examining changes in living arrangements for older
people. One study, led by Professor Jane Falkingham, explored factors
associated with older people moving into residential and sheltered
accommodation to understand the effects on quality of life and on care
provision. Another investigated how pathways into living alone affect
people’s mental health. “The findings suggest that living alone in later
life is not in itself a risk factor for psychological distress, and the negative
effects of a move to living alone on mental health tend to be transient,”
says Jane.
Changing obligations
The timing of parental marital disruption and how this influences adult
children’s sense of obligation to care for their parents in later life is the
subject of another CPC study. The findings challenged commonly held
views, revealing that people who were middle-aged when their parents
divorced tended to feel less obliged to care for their parents than
those who were children when their parents divorced. The study raises
questions about whether society can continue to rely on the family as
the main source of care for older people in future, a question that will be
examined further using data from a large national survey.

Examining the way we live

22

Research centres
Our world-leading research is facilitated by a number of interdisciplinary centres and
programmes, including:
Centre for Research on Ageing
An international and multidisciplinary research centre examining key
issues in ageing and the life course, informing policy and debate at
national and local level.
www.southampton.ac.uk/ageing

ESRC Third Sector Research Centre (TSRC)
A partnership between Southampton and the University of
Birmingham, TSRC aims to provide a better understanding of the
value of the third sector and how this can be maximised.
www.tsrc.ac.uk

Centre for Citizenship, Globalization and Governance (C2G2)
Merging insights from political science and international relations,
C2G2 focuses on the central political questions of today’s world about
power, cooperation, security, inequality and democracy.
www.southampton.ac.uk/c2g2

EPSRC Care Life Cycle Research Programme
This cross-disciplinary programme is the first to deal
comprehensively with the factors affecting both the supply and
demand of health and social care in the context of an ageing
population. It is funded by the Engineering and Physical Sciences
Research Council (EPSRC).
www.southampton.ac.uk/clc

Centre for Global Health, Population, Poverty and Policy
(GHP3)
GHP3 brings together social scientists from across a range of
disciplines to examine the interrelationships between health,
population and poverty at societal and individual level.
www.southampton.ac.uk/ghp3
ESRC Administrative Data Research Centre for England
Part of a UK-wide network funded by the Economic and Social
Research Council (ESRC), the Centre will make routinely collected
administrative data accessible for research.
ESRC Centre for Population Change
The UK’s first research centre on population change, the Centre
brings together expertise from five UK universities, the National
Records of Scotland and the Office for National Statistics.
www.cpc.ac.uk
ESRC National Centre for Research Methods (NCRM)
NCRM aims to promote a step change in the quality and range of
methodological skills and techniques used by the UK social science
community and to support methodological innovation in the UK.
www.ncrm.ac.uk

Institute of Criminal Justice Research
An interdisciplinary hub for researchers at the University and from
other institutions whose interests include or complement criminal
justice studies.
www.southampton.ac.uk/icjr
Southampton Statistical Sciences Research Institute (S3RI)
One of the largest groups of statisticians in the UK, S3RI develops and
applies cutting-edge methodologies and analytical techniques to add
meaning to data for a range of applications.
www.southampton.ac.uk/s3ri
Work Futures Research Centre
Bringing together eminent academics from across the University’s
disciplines, the Centre conducts research into the implications of
economic, policy and social change on work, employers, social groups
and individuals.
www.southampton.ac.uk/wfrc

University of Southampton social sciences research

From Westminster to urban China, our projects span the globe and examine diverse topics, including the implications of change in the workplace, ways to improve population forecasting and the effectiveness of maternal health services in the developing world. What they all share is a focus on impact. By providing crucial evidence for decision-makers and influencing policy in the UK and worldwide, our research is making a real difference to people’s lives.